Tirso's Don Juan as Social Rebel

TIRSO'S DON JUAN AS SOCIAL REBEL Alfred Rodriguez, University of New Mexico Ortega y Gasset's identification of Don Juan with vital authenticitywith that fundamental exigency of life that makes all impediments to its fulfillment , whether imposed by reason or society, cause for rebellion-clarified this literary creature's myth-figure status: Tal es la ironía irrespetuosa de Don Juan, figura equívoca, que nuestro tiempo va refinando, puliendo, hasta dotarla de un sentido preciso. Don Juan se revuelve contra la moral, porque la moral se había antes sublevado contra la vida. Sólo cuando exista una ética que cuente, como su norma primera, la plenitud vital, podrá Don Juan someterse .(l) We concur with this appraisal of the Don Juan: myth-symbol of the dynamic rebelliousness that underlies Western man's distinct ability-and willingness--to challenge taboos and burn totems. We feel, however, that the important textual basis for this representational myth-value (the tirsian character's constant, unrelenting offensive against the basic pillars of human sociability, against the sine qua non imperatives and codes that make social existence possible) has not been sufficiently analyzed. The most direct and complete evaluation of Don Juan as social rebel, as défier of social as differentiated from religious or ethical norms,(2) is Professor A. A. Parker's marvelous summary: And in fact none of the four seductions perpetrated by Don Juan is merely a sin of sexual indulgence; each is aggravated by circumstances that make it heinous. The seduction of Isabella is treachery towards a friend (Octavio) and, above all, an act of lese-majesté since it was committed in the royal palace. The dishonouring of Tisbea is aggravated by the violation of the law of hospitality, which should be sacred to the receiver. Ana's seduction is accompanied by a shameless betrayal of friendship and murder. And finally, the seduction of Aminta entails the breaking up of a wedding, the profanation of a sacrament . . . But on the erotic level alone Don Juan's exploits are more than merely personal disorder (or, as the 'myth' would have it, the individualistic assertion of 46 'energía vital'): the attendant circumstances make them a social disorder. Because Don Juan is the negation of 'caballerosidad' in every respect, he disrupts all social ties, and society itself will fall apart and disappear if his anarchism is allowed to prevail. Behind the breathlessly swift action, dominated by the swaggering anarchist, there lies the theme of social order . . .(3) We are in substantial agreement with Professor Parker, especially with regard to the first three escapades in El Burlador de Sevilla. Don Juan's aggravating anti-social behavior is in each case unmistakable, and he successively manages to undermine such basic pillars of social order and human conviviality as a) the respect and homage due hierarchical superiors (lesemajest é when it involves the royal person), b) the sacred law of hospitality, c) the hallowed precept of male friendship, and d) the sacrosanct immunity of a fellow human's life.(4) Since these breaks with fundamental imperatives of social order have been duly noted, our only concern in returning to them is to stress what Professor Parker's recapitulative summary had, necessarily, to avoid: the cumulative structural and stylistic textual evidence of Tirso's carefully orchestrated projection for literary effect. We hope to underscore, in this fashion, just how essential to the playwright was his character's anti-social dimension. First, the seduction that opens the play. Parker's reference to Tirso's direct insertion of the lese-majesté matter via the king's own words ('yerro cometido en mi ofensa')(5) doesn't begin to suggest the care actually expended by the playwright in highlighting his character's subversion of the hierarchical respect / homage imperative. To begin with, the palace setting is basic to the conception of the opening scene; more than equal to its other major elements: the sin (sexual incontinence) and its victim (duchess).(6) What is more, Tirso-although he strains verisimilitude in order to do soeffects a direct confrontation king-Don Juan. A king coming forth from his chambers, candle in hand, at the sound of trouble in the palace...